


Loki on Earth Part IV: Belonging

by MarvelFic1984



Series: Loki on Earth [4]
Category: Loki (Marvel) - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-24 00:42:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17694305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelFic1984/pseuds/MarvelFic1984
Summary: Loki and his wife enjoy worldwide popularity after Loki's brilliant scheme to stop Hela's plan to attack the Earth.  Those warm feelings are not shared by the Avengers who are still reeling from the aftermath of the Odinsons escape from their compound.But the pair are about to have bigger problems to worry about than whether or not they are popular enough.





	1. Prologue

_ This is how my story should have ended. _

 

_ Floating helplessly in the abyss equally distant between all the planes. _

 

_ For 100 years. _

 

_ I had everything.  A wife. A family. A grateful planet of worshipers and fans. _

 

_ But old habits die hard. _

 

_ I couldn’t refrain from taking things I shouldn’t.  Temptation is my greatest foe. _

 

_ And I got sucked here through the corridor of dark matter. _

 

_ Helpless to escape. _

 

_ As with all the eternal punishments I had previously been sentenced to. _

 

_ This is how my story should have ended. _

 

_ But when does my destiny ever triumph? _


	2. What magic is this?

“We were so glad when you two called.”

 

Mr. and Mrs. Odinson greeted their old friends Jessica and Oscar warmly.  Loki’s greeting was probably a tad too warm.

 

“Well, we wanted to tell you in person, we eloped and we are thinking about growing our family.” Jessica smiled sheepishly.  It was good to see her looking happy. “Trish and Malcolm were there, and Vido, but that was about it. Sorry, we would have invited you but we don’t have any money for a wedding.  We went to a courthouse.”

 

“That’s fine, we’re glad we can be part of the honeymoon instead.” Loki chimed in awkwardly.

 

His wife ignored him.  “We have enjoyed spending the last two weeks with our followers at the temple but they’re sort of more fans than friends if that makes any sense.  It’ll be nice to spend time with you two, and be on the boat again.”

 

“How did you get SHIELD to give it back to you anyway?” Oscar asked.

 

“Well, Thor convinced them we mostly meant well in what we did to resolve the Hela situation,” she explained.

 

“Praise Hela, Protector of the skies,” Jessica added with a little glance upwards.

 

“Yes, thanks Hela.” Oscar chimed in.

 

“But that didn’t mean they wanted us anywhere near the Avengers compound.  They still don’t know exactly what happened to their computers.” She smiled.

 

“Why would that make them give you the boat back?” Jessica asked.

 

“Because I threatened to do it again if they didn’t.” Loki smiled and extended an elbow to escort his wife over the steps onto the boat.

 

“Loki someday you may realize that there are ways to get what you want that don’t involve threats and subterfuge.” Oscar scolded.

 

“Of course, but they aren’t as fun.” Loki winked as he reached over the side of the boat to take their bags.  His wife noted that he never helped anyone with their bags and mentally shook her head.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“So where are we headed?” Jessica asked as Mrs. Odinson handed her a champagne glass and went to pull out the bottles.  They had been traveling, approximately southward, for over an hour before anyone bothered to ask.

 

“I hadn’t given it much thought.  Seeing as you two are newlyweds, isn’t it Earth tradition to go somewhere tropical?”  

 

Oscar nodded.  “I would love to swing by Puerto Rico if you’re welcome there.”

 

“My popularity, sorry darling, our popularity has never been better.  We are welcome just about everywhere right now,” Loki boasted. Thor had not betrayed that Loki had used his image to send his message about praying to Hela not to attack, but he had revealed that it was Loki’s idea.  

 

Construction of Hela’s temple was well underway with the United Nations gladly pitching in to hire the team of worshippers to continue offering thanks for her protection as well as astrophysicists to track her journey throughout the solar system.  The team included Thor’s most well known ex-girlfriend Dr. Jane Foster. She had not given any indication that she was interested in seeing him. When interviewed, she mostly talked about how it appeared that Hela’s wolf was fond of traipsing around Saturn’s rings.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.  I’ve always been popular.” She smirked.

 

“No you haven’t.  When you were a human you weren’t popular at all.” Damn him and his crystal clear multi-century memory.

 

“Well, no.  But I’ve been popular for a while.”

 

“Love goddesses always are.” He said cheekily.

 

She shrieked at him and began to playfully chase him as though she were going to push him over the side of the boat when the boat started to rumble.  She fell doubled over onto the deck. 

 

“Is that Chucky?” Jessica spilled her champagne in her eagerness to reach the side of the boat to look for their whale friends.

 

Her attention returned to their companions when Mrs. Odinson let out a wail.  She remained slumped forward on the deck with her head down. Loki leapt over the railing from the higher deck of the ship down to join her.  He crouched down and reached out to pick her up. As he touched her, there was a flash of light that nearly blinded their human companions. When they looked up again, Loki and his bride were both standing on the deck, looking rattled but again composed.

 

They looked over at Jessica and Oscar.

 

“What the fuck happened to your eyes?” Jessica took two steps backwards, pointing at the Odinsons like she had just recognized them as pod people from the bodysnatchers.

 

They looked at each other.

 

Instead of their usual appearance, their eyes had gone completely black throughout.  Except they were speckled with tiny stars, like a view of the night sky from the surface of the Earth looking up.  Getting over her initial fright, Jessica stepped forward and looked more deeply into Mrs. Odinson’s terrifyingly transformed eyes.  The stars were moving in them, like churning purple, pink and white galaxies. Looking at them was like gazing into the cosmos itself.  Loki’s were the same.

 

“Do you need anything?  Is there anything we can do to help you?” Jessica asked urgently.

 

At that moment they heard a familiar whoosh and thud as Thor landed on the deck of the boat.

 

“Brother, Sister, I got the terrible feeling that you were in danger and that I needed to come protect you two.  Is everything all right, do you want to get out of here?”

 

“I’m not sure and yes, urgently.” Loki replied.  

 

Thor nodded.  “I’ll take you to the safest place I know.”  He grabbed them both in one arm. “Greetings humans, enjoy your boat ride.” Their lift off sent the boat rocking back and forth with a big splash.  Jessica and Oscar had to hang on and wait for it to stop before they could talk.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Oscar asked.

 

“I hope they’re ok.” Jessica said, continuing to look up at the sky.

 

“Them, what about us?” Oscar went over to the console.

 

“Loki said just look for the biggest shiniest buttons.” Jessica said, pointing a new champagne bottle towards the ocean as she went to open it, suspecting it had been shaken up.  “How hard can it be?”

 

“No way.  I’m not going to just start driving a boat in the middle of the Atlantic.  I can’t even see land. He said Wakanda values communications. Which of these buttons calls for help?”  


	3. And the User

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Agents of SHIELD are attempting to resolve the computer shutdown caused by the fleeing Odinsons and have to look for a creative solution.

“I always knew,” Leopold Fitz-Simmons ranted, “that if I was lucky enough to spend a month at the Avengers Compound, it would be as an IT guy in some kind of alien crisis.  I just never expected it would be so creepy.” 

 

“It’s not that creepy,” his colleague Daisy Johnson said, still staring deeply at her computer screen in frustration.

 

“Not that creepy?” Leopold turned up the volume on the computer that Daisy was working on.  The same message from Loki was still playing. “Thank me later” it said for the millionth time in two weeks.  “He’s like the scariest clown that ever invaded my nightmares.”

 

“He’s not a scary clown.  He’s more like a strangely sexy vampire that’s really happy about something.”

 

Leopold looked up.  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

 

“Nope.” Daisy replied tersely.

 

At that moment, Detective Andrea Jones came in to the computer lab where they had been working.

 

“You two sent for me?”

 

Daisy beckoned her over to where they were working.  “Come in, come in, please help us we are totally lost.”

 

“Um, I’m not really a computer person,” she said, looking dismayed at the mess of wires and equipment in the half darkened computer lab and screens intermittently flashing Loki’s disconcerting visage.

 

“That’s the point.  We need a new perspective on this.  We are out of options.” Leopold came over and crossed his arms in thought.

 

“We have been over the hardware and software.  It’s not a hardware problem. It’s not a software problem.  There’s nothing else, that’s what a computer is.” Daisy explained.

 

“I really don’t know anything about that,” Andrea repeated uncomfortably.

 

“Right, right, but you made the most detailed file we have about the Odinsons and how they use their powers together.  Up close observation, not just seismic equipment measurements. We want you to think about how their powers work.” Fitz looked at her expectantly.

 

“As far as I know they don’t have any powers over hardware or software.  Their powers affect people.” Detective Jones explained.

 

“But they did something to the computers.” Daisy insisted.

 

“I don’t know what to tell you.  Loki’s powers are over perception and the mind, his wife’s powers affect emotions.  I don’t think that has anything to do with software.”

 

“Oh my god,” Daisy said.  “Fitz, are you,”

 

“It doesn’t make any sense but it’s the only possibility.”  Fitz chimed in.

 

“I’m missing something.” Andrea said looking back and forth.

 

“There’s three components to any computer system.  Hardware, software, and a user.” Daisy explained.

 

“Because whatever they did affected all of us, we initially ruled out user error which is the usual culprit whenever there’s some computer based calamity.  But we didn’t consider that the user was somehow what they were manipulating.” Fitz added. 

 

“They got magic in there that affects what we perceive without changing the computers themselves in any way we can detect.  So how in the world do we dispel that?” Daisy lamented.

 

“Um, Thor said once that whenever he’s not sure if Loki is there or an illusion, he throws a rock.  The rock breaks up the illusion.” Detective Jones recalled.

 

“Great, let’s have Thor come throw a huge rock at all these computers, problem solved.” Agent Fitz-Simmons declared.

 

Daisy had an epiphany.  “Or a metaphorical rock.  We need a user that can see through the illusion just how the rock can break it up.”

 

“But what user can see through these illusions?  All of us are just seeing this video.” Fitz said.

 

“A user that’s not a person.” Daisy looked at Fitz knowingly.

 

“A user that’s not, oh no.  No, we are not doing that Daisy, let’s just tell them we need all new computers.”  Agent Fitz-Simmons shook his head vehemently.

 

“What?” Detective Jones asked.

 

“She wants us to fire up the artificial intelligence robots again.” Leopold said with disapproval.

 

“We don’t need the whole thing, we just need to turn on Aida’s head and ask her what she sees when she looks at the computers.” Daisy explained.

 

“I am not turning on Aida’s head.  Jemma would never allow it anyway, neither would deputy director Mackenzie.  And they shouldn’t.” Fitz re-crossed his arms defiantly.

 

“The head we have isn’t the one who you’re thinking of.  Just the basic model. Ask her to look at the screen and tell us what she sees.” Daisy said.

 

“When she says the one I’m thinking of, she’s talking about an artificial intelligence robot that fell in love with me, erased my memories, planted me in a virtual reality simulation for weeks, and turned me into a sadistic killer.  So it’s not like she’s asking me to turn on my old Nintendo from school. Which I would gladly do, by the way.” Agent Fitz-Simmons found his stutter was returning.

 

“I can see where that would be a sore subject.” Detective Jones could not find much more to say on the point.  She thought for a moment. “I may have something else. I’ll be right back.” She took off running.

 

A few minutes later when she returned she expected to interrupt a heated argument.  But it appeared these agents had been through too much together for that. She found them waiting for her, silently, hoping for another answer to their issue.

 

“Okay, Steve, get out your phone.” Detective Jones instructed.  Daisy and Leopold look up and saw that Captain America was standing in their lab in his civvies.  He tended to dress pretty plainly in khaki pants and a solid colored close-fitted t-shirt. Leopold silently speculated that his entire body would fit inside the Captain’s ribcage, and then wondered why he was prone to such strange thoughts.

 

“Oh, wow, uh, Captain, um, Mr. Rogers, sir.  Hello.” Fitz struggled to regain his composure as the Captain smiled.

 

“Call me Steve.  What do you need with my phone?”

 

“Remember how Loki sent you a text message when Hela was on her way?” Detective Jones recalled.

 

“Praise the protector of the sky, he sent you a text message?” Leopold said.

 

“Yeah and then he called me but he said he wasn’t using a phone.” Steve explained.

 

“Steve, ask your phone to read the text messages you got two Saturdays ago.” Detective Jones suggested.

 

“Ask my phone?  How do I ask my phone?” Steve held up his phone and looked at it like a monkey looking at a hammer.

 

“Give it here.  If you haven’t set up Alexa I’ll do it.” Daisy gestured to him and he complied.   After she had gone through some basic steps, she was ready. “Alexa, read text messages from two Saturdays ago.”

 

“Nineteen text messages from AJ.  First text message at 8:37 AM. Hey handsome, I was thinking about.”

 

“Alexa stop.” Daisy said urgently.  Detective Jones looked relieved. Daisy opened the messages from the garbled number and looked at the time stamp and instructed Alexa to read the text messages from that date and time.

 

“No messages were received at that time.”  As Alexa said that, the image of the text messages faded from the phone.  

 

“Oh my god, it worked!” Leopold put both his hands on his head, grasping his curly hair.

 

“We’ve been asking the diagnostic equipment the wrong questions.  We’ve been asking what the problems are and it’s been telling us there aren’t any.” Daisy said.  Fitz ran over and fired his diagnostic machine back up and plugged it into the nearest unit.

 

“What’s currently being projected on your monitor?” Fitz asked the diagnostic.

 

“The monitor currently reflects the start up screen,” came back the computerized voice.  As the words finished, the humans watched the replaying video dissipate as the start up screen appeared in front of them.

 

“That’s some rock,” Andrea remarked.  Steve looked at her confused and she indicated she would explain later.

 

Fitz breathed a huge sigh of relief as Loki’s face vanished.  “One down, hundreds to go. Andrea, Captain, I mean Steve, thank you two so much.  This is amazing.”

 

At that moment, a runner came into the lab.  With the computers out of commission, interns from the Stark corporation had been serving as an old fashioned communication system throughout the compound.

 

“Thor brought them back, they just landed outside,” she puffed, leaning over to catch her breath.

 

“Them?” Steve asked.  “Wait, them?! Why?”

 

Fitz shook his head violently.  “No no no no no, not again, send them away, don’t let them near this place.”

 

“Sure, I’ll just go make Thor do what you say dude.  Do you have a message for them?” the intern asked, still winded.

 

“No, Detective Jones and I will come with you to see why they would violate the truce agreement.  Lead the way. We can just walk.” Steve added, noting that the intern looked exhausted. She seemed small and bookish.  This was probably not what she thought she had signed up for. She turned and lead them towards the outdoor courtyard where Thor had landed with his surviving family in tow.


	4. Hela's Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hela is surprised to learn about some major gaps in Thor and Loki's education.

Detective Jones and Captain Steve Rogers approached Thor and his family on the internal courtyard of the Avengers compound where they had landed.  They had to admit to themselves that the Odinsons, all three of them, looked frightened and bewildered. An unnerving prospect to say the least. Even in the war against Thanos, Steve couldn’t recall seeing Thor look frightened very often.

 

Thor put his hand out defensively.  “I know they’re not supposed to be here, but I got a premonition that they were in danger and in need of my protection so I brought them here.  Don’t worry, I’m just going to take them to my quarters until I figure out the meaning of my premonition.”

 

Steve looked at the uncharacteristically meek pair and saw the depth of the stars in their gaze.  “Thor, what the heck happened to their eyes?”

 

“That’s part of what I’m trying to sort out.”

 

“Of course, we’ll do whatever we can, do you need me to stand watch?” Steve offered.  Andrea looked at him aghast. They had come here to confront Thor for bringing forbidden guests to the compound and here he was offering his help.  She was intensely curious what he meant when he asked about their eyes but was keenly conscious of Nick Fury’s admonition not to stare into them.

 

“Steve, you can’t be serious.” Andrea said.  “They’re not supposed to be here.”

 

“We’re getting the computers fixed and Thor thinks they’re in trouble, I think we should do whatever we can to help them.”  Steve prepared to escort them into the compound when Leopold Fitz-Simmons came running out.

 

“No Steve, you keep those gremlins away from my equipment,” he shouted as he ran up to the group.  The closer he got to Steve and Thor, however, the more he remembered that he was very short. He slowed his roll.  “We had an agreement that they would, bloody hell what’s happened to their eyes.” Fitz stopped dead in his tracks when he caught a glimpse of their faces.

 

“Thor doesn’t know, that’s why he brought them here.” Steve offered.

 

“Okay well obviously we have to protect them.” Fitz declared, nodding his head.

 

“That’s what I said,” Steve offered.

 

At that point, deputy director Mackenzie approached from the other side of the courtyard where his auxiliary office had been set up.  “Thor, why is,”

 

“Don’t look at their eyes!” Andrea shouted at the director as he approached.  Mack had experienced enough alien mind control to take a directive like that seriously.  He stopped his approach from 20 feet back and looked away.

 

“Thor!” he shouted from that distance.  “Can you tell me why you three came here at the same time as Hela started making a beeline straight towards Earth?”

 

“Hela.  Maybe that was my premonition.  Maybe she’s decided to kill you two after all.”

 

“How would that explain their eyes though?” Steve asked.

 

“I’m not sure.  I don’t think she marks people for killing or anything.  She just kills people.” 

 

“Okay, I’m going back inside then, I recommend all of you do the same and leave the Asgardians to fight amongst themselves.” Mack shouted as he turned to go back to his office with deliberate speed.

 

“No way.  I’m staying here.  Hela will have to get through me.” Steve declared.

 

“Me too,” Fitz said boldly, standing as tall as he could with his diminutive frame.  Steve nodded at him while Andrea looked at them both like they were crazy.

 

Only moments later, the shadow of a great wolf passed over the courtyard.  Hela dismounted from the air and descended gently to the ground like she was riding a ferris wheel.  As her toes touched soil, her helmet faded leaving only wispy, straight, jet black hair that hung nearly to her shoulders.  She looked around at the gathered crowd with a wide beam. Fitz rethought his declaration that Loki’s smile was the most unnerving he had ever seen.

 

“Well.  I had to come see for myself.  Congratulations.” She said, looking at the bewildered couple.

 

“Congratulations for what?” Thor demanded.

 

“Relax Thor, you know I couldn’t hurt them right now if I wanted to, and for once I don’t.”  She looked at his defensive stance. “Wait, you don’t know do you.” She looked around at the gathered company for some hint of recognition and received none.  “My. Odin and his child bride were not very attentive parents, were they. You mean to tell me it’s been this long?” Hela smirked.

 

“What’s been this long?” Thor asked.

 

“I guess big sister is going to have to give you two the talk.  Although you seem to have largely figured it out on your own.” She looked back at the two starry eyed Odinsons with amusement.

 

Mrs. Odinson, who had been silent now for hours, finally spoke.  “The talk. You don’t mean,”

 

“I flatter myself that my arrival on Earth was apparently sufficiently momentous.  It takes incredible energy to conceive a god which is why it happens so rarely. The reason it takes a planet-wide cataclysm is because that is the only thing that usually will generate enough prayer energy from the humans or whomever to form the requisite connection to Valhalla.  Odin really never explained this to you?”

 

“We weren’t a talking family.” Thor noted.

 

“Conceive a god?” Loki finally blurted out.

 

“What did you think had happened to you?  Has it really been so many years since a god was born?”

 

“Then what happened to their eyes?” Steve asked.

 

“They’re currently drawing energy from the Valhalla plane.  The reflection of that in their eyes is a sort of adaptation.  Since gods are conceived so rarely, it’s essential that they survive.  Inferior species are drawn to the stargaze and feel the impulse to protect.  As for me, well, you felt it Thor.”

 

“I certainly felt something.”  He finally lowered his weapon.

 

“Usually we gods fight amongst ourselves like starved hyenas, but when one of our own is conceived, there’s a sort of biological truce, as best I can explain it.  Thor and I felt the creation of the god and the accompanying impulse to preserve it, just like you humans feel under the stargaze.”

 

Loki looked as stunned as he was puzzled.  “We weren’t even,”

 

“Were you listening to a word I said scrawny?  It takes a couple of weeks, that’s how I know it coincided with my arrival in your solar system.  You really were never taught anything about how a god is made?” Hela was perturbed.

 

“So what do we do now,” the newly expecting mother asked her sister in law.  

 

“Recruit a small army of humans to guard you and hope for the best I suppose.  Bringing a god into existence is challenging even on Asgard. I don’t think it’s ever been done on Midgard.  I’ll continue to ride the sky to make sure no harm comes to my little niece or nephew.” She grinned again. “Don’t worry little one, auntie Hela will teach you how to fight properly, like a real god.”  With those ominous parting words, she leapt off the ground towards her wolf who was still floating several stories in the air, and with a kick rode back into space. Probably towards Saturn, Fenrir’s favorite.

 

“Well, you heard the protector, we’re going to need a small army.  Let’s round everyone up.” Fitz declared, clapping his hands together.

 

“How about we not do anything until we can update Fury and Mack.” Detective Jones admonished.  She thought for a moment. “Telling everyone about the baby will put them in greater danger you know.  There are people out there who still don’t like Loki very much. If you want to keep them safe, you should protect their secrets, Fitz, Steve.”  The two influenced humans got wide eyed and nodded their heads. 

 

“Yes, secret, good idea.  Right, come with me, let’s get you to Thor’s quarters.” Steve and Fitz prepared to guide them inside.

 

“Should I be worried that my boyfriend is so enamored with you right now?” Andrea joked to the goddess, not making eye contact.

 

“Oh honey,” she said, her voice strangely distant, “if I were interested in your boyfriend, I’d have had him already.”

 

“Why, because you can manipulate emotions?” Detective Jones regretted her joke.

 

“Ew, no, that’s gross.  Sweetie, it’s because I married a shapeshifter.”  Detective Jones caught out of the corner of her eye, still making sure not to look directly at them, that for just a moment there were two Steves walking out of the courtyard.  Fortunately she had too much else to worry about without her mind reeling at a full range of possibilities she did not want to dwell on.

 

Giving a report to director Fury and his deputy about the conception of an alien god and accompanying mind control powers would be just like giving a report to her supervisors at the precinct, right?  She told herself. She was not persuaded.


	5. Them

“I can’t believe,” Loki said once they were finally alone in the room adjacent to Thor’s quarters, “that at long last I have the kind of power that I always wanted.  The ability to bend anyone to my will with merely a glance. But I don’t have any plan or goal. There’s nothing I hope to achieve. And all I can think about is protecting you.  What cruel irony.”

 

“Really?” She said to him.  “That’s what you have to say right now?”

 

“Why?” He asked.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Rarely.”

 

“Don’t you think that learning that I, we, however this works, are pregnant with a tiny god, that their conception put your brother and sister on cosmic notice, and that I will be the first person to try to birth a god off of Asgard.  And you think this is a waste of your newfound powers?”

 

“No, I think it’s ironic.”

 

“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” she demanded.

 

“What do you want me to say?” he asked.

 

“Almost anything else.”

 

“You want me to say that I’m terrified, that I have no idea what’s going to happen, that I’m fairly upset at learning about apparently serious gaps in my education on the subject, that I never thought to ask if there were anything I ought to know, that I have no idea what a half frost giant, half human, all god, child will be like?  You want me to say all that?” He didn’t yell. Instead, all these statements came as if they were spoken by someone else observing him rather than by him about himself.

 

“You promise me you have no idea?” she said accusingly.

 

“Of course not, why, what are you implying?”

 

“You were the one who called for worldwide prayers to Hela.  And lo and behold, you get an offspring out of it. In case you’re wondering, this is the kind of thing I should be consulted on.” She also wasn’t yelling but she was getting there.  He came over to her and knelt down in front of her.

 

“Darling, I swear to you I had no idea.  Frigga told me the same thing she told you, gods are conceived in cataclysm.  I had no idea why until Hela explained it.” He got up off his knees and sat down on their bed with his head in his hands.  “It does make sense,” he said, looking up, “there’s a huge electric storm so the people pray and pray and that creates a god who can control the lightning.  There’s a massive war, people pray, a goddess is born who can smite any enemy.”

 

She went and sat down next to him and he put an arm around her.  “We shouldn’t fight.” She said. “We have to figure out how we’re going to get through this.”

 

He looked at her, the blackness of the space in her eyes reflected in the speckled stars of his own.  “You know I always do. I always get through.”

 

“It’s not I anymore Loki.  You promised me it was we.”

 

He shook his head.  “Of course but that’s not what I meant.  I have centuries of experience escaping things that should have killed me.  This,” he reached out and stroked her cheek, “is just the latest in a series of challenges to be met.  We will prevail as always.”

 

“I hope this isn’t the time you’re wrong.  I know you’re not supposed to journey to Valhalla too often to avoid falling victim to involuntary trips.” She said hopefully.

 

“It’s called the Odinsleep for a reason.  He consulted with the ancestors a few times too often.” Loki mused.

 

“But this is probably one of those times,” she noted.

 

“We are apparently already channeling the energy of Valhalla towards the creation of the god.  I don’t know if it would be dangerous to visit,” he mulled.

 

“Well, hopefully they wouldn’t accept us if that were the case, the way they didn’t accept us when Hela was in pursuit?” she asked.

 

“Fair enough.  I could certainly use the information.  I’ll give it a try if you’ll try with me.”  She nodded as they leaned backwards on the bed and prayed to Valhalla.

 

“Frigga, Odin, Heimdall, any of you.  As you may know, I have gotten myself into a bit of a situation and I could really use some guidance that apparently I was not given while you were alive.” Loki had developed a habit of praying like he was drafting formal correspondence.  

 

“Amen and what the fuck,” his wife added.

 

“Darling that was,” Loki scolded as he moved to sit up but fell back down as he succumbed to the Odinsleep, leaving her behind.

 

“Dammit,” she said, sitting up to figure out what she would do until he returned.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Odin was grinning broadly, a sight Loki had rarely seen on his usually stern father.  Even on the day his brother was supposed to be coronated, even at the most joyous feast, Odin remained stern, sitting in his throne back straight as a post.  Apparently the response to receiving news of a coming grandchild is universal. 

 

“Loki, I’m so happy to see you.” Odin said, coming forward to embrace his adopted son.

 

“I’m not sure how much time I have, I’m going to need you to answer some questions.” Loki said with much less warmth.

 

Odin smiled and instead of speaking, beckoned for Loki to follow him to the next room.  The room was glowing with warm sunlight reflected across the white marble floors and gilded gold furniture.  Reclining on a chaise was Frigga, looking as serene as he had ever seen her. 

 

Hovering just off the ground near her feet were two white willow wisps.  Small moving beads of light waving gently back and forth.

 

“When they formed on this plane, they practically scampered straight to her.” Odin said, giving Loki a little shove straight towards Frigga.  Frigga looked over at her son with a broad grin before looking down at the little lights hovering by her feet.

 

“It’s going to be tough for her.  Being on Midgard with her young human body and very little of the magic of Asgard remaining.  But I will be here, guarding them. It’s funny Loki. They haven’t left my side since they formed.  And to think you once told me I’m not really your mother,” she chuckled. 

 

As the image faded, Loki who had not said anything since entering the room shouted.

 

“Them?”

 

“Your twins,” he heard Odin say as the vision of Valhalla faded to black.


	6. A Hard Bargain

“Loving care has never really been your strong suit, has it little brother.”  Thor tried to joke as he approached his helpless sibling holding his ailing bride’s hand while she was prepared for transport away from the Avengers compound.

 

“Sensitivity has never been yours, oaf.”  Loki didn’t take his eyes off his wife to banter with his brother.  That’s how Thor knew he was truly worried. He had plenty to be worried about.  She had been fading in and out of consciousness for the last few days. When she was conscious, she was not very happy about it.  Pregnancy had not suited her. Loki had not fared to well either. She had been too weak to use her powers on him so he had been without his steady dose of magically enhanced affection.

 

Thor put his hand on his brother’s shoulder reassuringly.  They did find that she was stronger when Thor was nearby, a little piece of Asgard.  But the difference was negligible. They had thought Thor’s time may be better spent researching any available information about the birth of a god.  Unfortunately, research was also not his strong suit. The resident researcher refused to leave her bedside.

 

“She’ll be in good hands in Wakanda, Loki.  They just had a wave of births, including a royal one.  Their doctors are now as practiced as anyone on the planet.”

 

“I don’t think giving birth to twin gods bears any resemblance to birthing humans.  Look how weak she is. I can’t help but blame myself.”

 

“Well, yes.  In every possible way this is your doing.  She did sign up for it willingly.” Thor offered.

 

“If you dummies are done comforting each other can one of you bring me some water?”  Still joking even in her weakened state.

 

“Darling, don’t you want something to eat?” Loki leaned over her speaking softly.

 

“Ugh.  No, that sounds terrible.”  He looked worriedly at her.

 

“I’m okay, I’m just tired.”  She reached up and touched his cheek as he felt a familiar wave of affection roll over him.

 

“Don’t do that, save your strength.  Don’t worry about me.” He scolded. Thor made a mental note of words he had never thought he would hear his brother say and never expected to hear again, at least not quite so earnestly.  She smiled at him and faded back to sleep.

 

“Brother I don’t have any bright ideas.  I’m at a total loss for the first time in my life.  What if we lose them before they’re even born? What if I lose all three of them without even trying anything?  I don’t have the first clue how to help them?” 

 

Thor looked at his little brother with dismay.  “Loki, I have one idea. I need to go talk to someone first.”  Loki looked up at him with his starred eyes and nodded. Thor thought to himself, Loki isn’t going to like this.

 

Minutes later, Thor was standing on Bleecher street in New York City.  He had changed into his civilian garb during the flight, but to the citizens of New York he was no less recognizable out of armor.  He attracted some attention.

 

“Wizard, let me in.  Wizard, hello!” He shouted.

 

“Not so loud please.  What are you doing here?”  Thor found himself standing inside the sanctum, looking at Dr. Strange’s second in command, a man who went by the single name Wong.

 

“I need to see the doctor please.  It’s urgent.” Thor said impatiently.

 

“The sorcerer supreme is not to be disturbed, particularly by Asgardians.” Wong said defensively.

 

“It’s all right Wong, I thought he might be coming,” came a voice from the shadows.  Dr. Strange indulged his usual dramatic entrance, floating down from a story above using his sentient cape.  He looked less imposing than the first time Thor had seen him, however. His face was sunken and sallow, even paler than usual.  As though he had not been outside much in recent times.

 

“You know why I’m here.” Thor said.

 

“Indeed.  I have to imagine I’m the only person on the planet, maybe in the galaxy, who is both a skilled medical doctor and an interdimensional traveler.  Not to mention a master of the mystic arts.”

 

“Good, so you understand.”  Thor sounded relieved.

 

“I do, perfectly.  But I lack the one most important qualification.  It has been made painfully clear to me that I am not welcome to travel to the Valhalla plane or access its magic in any way.  Which is what she needs from a midwife.” Dr. Strange explained curtly.

 

“How do you know that’s what she needs?” Thor asked.

 

“I’ve been reading about the birth of Asgardian gods in my library.”

 

“You have a book that can help us?  Can I see it?” Thor asked eagerly.

 

“Several and no.” Strange responded.

 

“Why the hel not?” Thor asked more aggressively.

 

“Because you are not a master of magic.  Your brother is. You tell me what you think the odds are that I will give your brother access to books containing the keys to some of the most powerful magic in the universe.”  

 

“I dunno, one in four?” Thor asked hopefully.

 

“Incorrect.”  Strange turned to walk away.

 

“Strange wait.”  He stopped without turning around.  “No new gods have been born since I.  The twins are, I think, very important to Valhalla.  Maybe I could negotiate for you to access the magic you need.”

 

“Thor, I have looked into the time stone.  I cannot see the twins.” Strange said.

 

Thor thought for a moment and looked despondent.  “You mean there’s no timeline in which they survive?”

 

“No, I mean the time stone won’t show them to me.”

 

Thor raised an eyebrow.  “Has that ever happened before?”

 

Strange shook his head.  “Not so far as I’m aware.”

 

“Do you think it’s Valhalla forbidding your access again?” Thor probed.

 

“I don’t.  I have no idea why their timelines are concealed to me.  I find this terrifying. Loki’s children will likely be extremely powerful and I’m not convinced that’s a good thing.”

 

“Stephen, you realize Asgard protected this planet for centuries from unimaginable threats.” Thor said.

 

“Thor, you realize Asgard is gone, and within my lifetime has sent us Loki, Lorelei, a Berserker, and Hela goddess of death, all of whom presented grave planet-wide threats.  I am not Asgard’s biggest fan.”

 

“Lady Sif and I,” Thor began.

 

“You and Lady Sif occasionally stop by to mitigate the damage being done by your brethren.”  Strange was obstinate.

 

“What will it take?” Thor finally asked.

 

“I know Valhalla won’t give me routine access to its magic but I need something.  Some magic I can use in an Asgardian emergency so this planet is not defenseless when some day your descendents decide they’re in a bad mood.  Something I can keep here in the sanctum. For that, I will help with the twins.”

 

“You want me to give you magic that has the power to take me out?” Thor said.

 

“You, Hela, Loki, his children.  I’m almost defenseless to you now.  The best I can do is surprise one of you and then run away.  Which hasn’t always worked out so well for me actually.”

 

“That’s a hard bargain wizard.  My nieces in exchange for the power to destroy them.”  Thor was incredulous.

 

“They’re girls are they?” Strange inquired.

 

“That’s what they tell me. I need a place to lie down so I may commune with Valhalla about your request.”  Strange directed Thor to his largest sofa in the small sitting room. Thor’s feet dangled off the side onto the ground, so instead he laid down on the floor.

 

Odin greeted him hastily.  “There isn’t much time. Before Loki stole the sword that killed Frigga, the Godslayer, from the palace vault, I imbued it with a powerful enchantment.  The god-killing sword can only be wielded by someone whose only intention is to protect the realms. If they are corrupted at all by greed, vengeance, or the pursuit of power, the sword will not slay a god.  Loki has it hidden in his pockets. Tell Loki that sword is the price of the lives of his wife and children. You need the wizard’s help to get them through this.”

 

It did not occur to Thor to express any surprise that Loki had stolen something dangerous from the palace vault.  Thor looked over at his mother. To his astonishment, he saw his sister in law, laying at Frigga’s feet next to the glowing orbs, apparently asleep.

 

“She has spent more and more time here to preserve her strength.  Even here she sleeps. But the more she comes here, the weaker her tie to the prime material plane.  She needs to be there if she is to pull the twins into your dimension. Go, make the deal Thor.”

 

Thor awoke with a start.

 

“That was unusually fast.” Dr. Strange indicated.

 

“I can get you a god-killing sword that can only be wielded by someone pure of heart who seeks to guard the realms.”

 

“Like King Arthur?” Strange asked.  Thor looked confused. “Nevermind. It’s a deal Thor, let’s prepare to journey to Wakanda.”


	7. Change of Plane

Thor practiced in his head as he always did whenever he was preparing to ask something of Loki; especially if it involved Loki surrendering a magical treasure.  He was ready for Loki to argue with him that he didn’t need the doctor’s help. He anticipated that his brother would never agree to give the sword that slew their mother to a mortal who had stolen valuable magic from him in the past.  He knew Loki may even deny possessing the sword.

 

Thor underestimated the true power of the magic of Valhalla that flowed through his brother for months now, compelling him to protect his mate.  Or perhaps it was genuine affection. But whatever the cause, Thor was denied the fight he anticipated.

 

Dr. Strange and Thor were already waiting for Loki and his bride when they arrived at the palace of Wakanda.  Thor did not even finish his full explanation of the deal with Doctor Strange and his conversation with Odin in Valhalla.  Loki reached into one of his pockets, pulled out the sword, and tossed it unceremoniously onto the ground. 

 

Thor picked it up gingerly.  “Careful Loki, this sword killed our mother.”

 

“I know it did.  I hate it. He’s welcome to the cursed thing.” Loki said.  He sounded exhausted. Thor wondered if it was from his nearly constant vigil or if he was suffering some of the effects of the magic just as his wife was.

 

“Then why did you steal it if you hate it?”  Thor asked, carefully holding the sword in both hands.

 

Loki finally looked up.  “I don’t understand the question.”

 

Doctor Strange took the sword and opened a portal to his sanctum where Wong was waiting to receive it.  “Put the Godslayer with the other artifacts on the training ground after you do your analysis of the enchantments.” Wong nodded as the portal closed, carefully holding the sword as he looked over it with admiration.

 

With the practice of an expert and the caution of a sorcerer, Stephen Strange approached his patient.  He gently brushed past Loki on his way to examine her. 

 

“We need to deliver soon.  She can’t withstand this much longer.” He addressed both brothers and the gathered Wakandan doctors.

 

“Are they developed enough?  I don’t know how long gods gestate but it seems a bit early.” One of the doctors remarked.

 

“It won’t matter if we lose their mother.  They’re Asgardian, their bodies should be strong enough to enter this realm.  The first thing we need to do is bring her back from the Valhalla plane.”

 

“That was not covered in medical school I’m afraid, not even here in Wakanda,” the doctor noted.  

 

“We need to wake her up and keep her awake.” Strange said with apparent impatience.  Although he outwardly expressed mild irritation, he was transparently pleased to be taking charge of a medical team again.

 

“I’m not sure we have any method which I would consider pregnancy safe, and you aren’t in charge of this ward.”

 

“Have you ever pulled two beings to this realm from another dimension of time and space?” He asked the doctor.

 

“In a way.  But I take your point.”

 

Strange nodded respectfully.  “Doctors, I’ll take care of the sorcery, you take care of mother and babies.  They may be a little premature but I suspect they will be strong. And I wouldn’t worry about what drugs she can handle.  She needs to be in her body and awake.” 

 

The doctor looked skeptical but prepared an injectable stimulant.  “This will work fast.”

 

Stephen Strange nodded.  “When she wakes up, I need each of you to take her hands,” he pointed to Thor and Loki.  “We are not on Asgard, we need as much Asgardian energy as we can summon. You two are what we’ve got.”

 

They all looked on anxiously as she was injected with the stimulants.  Despite the promise that it would work quickly, she was apparently reluctant to return to her ailing body.

 

“What is it, I was sleeping.  Wait, where are we?” She asked.

 

“Darling, it’s time.  The doctor is here to deliver the children.” Loki leaned in and said softly, holding her hand.

 

“Great, wake me up when it’s finished.”  She closed her eyes and tried to doze off but the stimulant kept her awake.

 

“Any time now would be great doctor,” Thor demanded.

 

“Let’s all hope Valhalla will uphold its end of the bargain then,” the sorcerer supreme said.  With that, he began the incantation.

 

As the energy corridor between the prime material plane and Valhalla broadened in anticipation of transferring the two new goddesses through, Loki started to feel a strange pull.  At first he thought this must be the influence of the Asgardian energy he was providing to the process.

 

But only too late he realized it was much more.

 

The energy from Valhalla ignited the dark matter energy that Loki had absorbed from his use of the dark stone.  The dark matter corridors he had kept his metaphorical fingers dipped in so he could retrieve the stone snapped, as did the dark energy he had planted in the sorcerer’s subconscious during their journey through the dark realm together.  He had to leave his mark behind, just in case he ever needed revenge on the sorcerer again.

 

This interaction between the dark matter energy and the energy from the Valhalla plane would have only left a bruise on Loki.  A funny story, a few moments of agony.

 

Would have, if Loki had resisted the urge to pocket Dr. Strange’s sling ring as he had brushed past only minutes earlier.  

 

Resisted he had not. 

 

The ring that Loki had hidden up his sleeve caught in rift created by the intersection of the dark matter and Valhalla’s light.

 

Before the eyes of all gathered, at the same instant his children joined the material plane, Loki appeared to collapse as though he were being pulled into a black hole until he was smaller than a speck.  Then he vanished completely.


	8. Abyss

First he checked his sleeve for the sling ring.  It was gone.

 

He tried to reach into the dark matter streams to retrieve the scepter.  He could not access them.

 

Next he attempted his usual transportation magic.  Nothing worked.

 

He tried to pray to Valhalla. To no avail.

 

He tried to propel himself through space like he was swimming.  If he was moving he couldn’t tell. Around him was pure emptiness.  Not a vacuum, not space. Nothing.

 

He was forced to conclude that he had landed in some kind of limbo dimension.

 

After the first week or so, he could only guess the time, he noticed that whatever this place was, time passed but he didn’t become hungry or thirsty.  He couldn’t sense any air but he didn’t suffocate. He just lingered.

 

Sometimes he would doze off, and wake up hoping for a rescue, or a noise, or a change in the constancy of the dull white light surrounding him.  But nothing changed.

 

After the first year or so, he wondered if he was in Hel, but it was very different from what he had always been told.  He thought maybe he had been given his own special Hel. He spent the next year feeling very important and alone.

 

The next few years he spent wondering just how angry his wife would be when he got back.  He was missing the early childhood years when his infants were helpless and would require constant care.  He chuckled to himself at the thought of uncle Thor having to help with the diapers and baths in his absence.  Then he winced at the thought of uncle Thor spending too much time around his bride and his home. He hoped that whatever had sent him here had spared them, that they were all fine without him.

 

He spent the next few decades reliving his every mistake.  Exploring in his mind the twists and turns of his own decisions, plotting out how he could have done each one differently and what he would do if the situation arose again.  He rehashed, through impeccable memory, each important conversation. He thought constantly of Frigga, his wife, and Thor. People he thought he might never see again. Whatever plane he was on did not grant him the sweet release of death.

 

He had worked out all the possible explanations for what had brought him here.  Occasionally he wondered if the sorcerer had tempted him with the sling ring on purpose.  It was known he could never resist something shiny and magical. But mostly he knew it was probably an accident of his own creation.  

 

After what he suspected was nearly a century, he saw it.

 

A single flash of light.  

 

Like a little firefly in the distance.  For only an instant.

 

It was the first change he had seen in what he suspected had been decades.

 

He entertained the possibility that he had lost his mind completely, but he assumed he would have hallucinated sooner if that were the case.  No, there was distinctly a light.

 

For the next week or so he didn’t take his eyes off of that spot.

 

As he was about to give up, the light reappeared.  This time, it was stable.

 

Two figures stepped through the light and stood in front of him.  At first, all he saw were two tall, lanky shadows. But then he heard a voice.  The shorter of the two leaned towards the other and said “I told you he would be here.”


	9. Out of Hel

The two shadows slowly transformed into complete images of two young women with jet-black hair and steely blue eyes.  The taller of the two had pale blue skin and long fingers. The shorter had a softer porcelain complexion. He did not doubt for a moment the identity of the two fully grown women standing before him.  They seemed to stand comfortably as if there were solid ground, although there was none, while he continued to float helplessly.

 

“You’re not identical then.” He finally observed, after being stared at like a goldfish in a tank for nearly half a minute.

 

“He’s as perceptive as mother always said…” the pale one observed.

 

“...very perceptive,” the blue one responded as if finishing her sister’s sentences.  He gathered that they spoke this way frequently. He was not certain whether it was out of habit or for effect.  Whatever it was they were trying to achieve, he decided it was working.

 

“Sorry to state the obvious.  I’m extremely glad to see you two.  I’m not sure how long I’ve been here.” He said apologetically.

 

“97 years…” the paler one informed him.  Her voice was smooth and lyrical. 

 

“...the better part of a century,” her sister finished in a voice that was deeper and raspy, like a velvet lounge singer.

 

“I can only imagine what you must think of me being gone all this time.” He offered.  They returned to looking at him like he was a fish. “There’s so much I want to know. Do you have magical abilities?  What can you do? How did you get here?”

 

At these questions they smiled.

 

“Oh yes, we have abilities…”

 

“...she’s the brains, I’m the muscle,” the blue one stood a little taller as she said it.

 

“I’ve tried to imagine what they might be given the prayers that created you.” Loki explained.

 

“It wasn’t the prayers…”

 

“...not the prayers.”

 

“It was the manner of our delivery…”

 

“...the doctor who delivered us,”

 

“Wore the eye…”

 

“...the eye of Agomotto.”  The cadence was only just slower than one person talking.  It was delightfully unnerving. 

 

“The time stone.” Loki recalled.  “Yes I knew he wore it. You have abilities with time?”  They nodded.

 

“I can see the future of whatever timeline we are on…” the shorter one explained.

 

“I can stop time and rewind it.  Just a little bit,” the blue one said with some humbleness.

 

“She’ll get better at it…”

 

“...I’ll be able to do more as I practice.”

 

One thing was for certain about the two young ladies standing in front of him.  They were spooky. He expected that they were widely to be feared. He surmised that the clairvoyant one always spoke first because she knew what her sister was about to say, making their conversations seamless.  Brilliant.

 

“You two must be very powerful.” He complimented, genuinely meaning it.

 

“Together we can see the possible timelines of past and future unfold,” they said, this time in near perfect unison.

 

“Is that how you found me?” he asked.  They nodded, still without taking their eyes off of him.

 

“As much as I am enjoying this visit, and I am, tremendously, I am desperately hoping you are here with a plan to get me out.”  They nodded again. The taller one reached behind her back and pulled out the dark matter staff, holding it at her side.

 

“You are clever girls indeed,” Loki exclaimed. “You can wield infinity stones?”

 

“You could…”

 

“...why shouldn’t we?”

 

“Naturally.  Well, let’s get going with the rescue.  I expect I will spend the next 97 years apologizing to your mother for my absence and I’d like to get started straight away.”

 

“He misunderstands…”

 

“...he doesn’t see it.”

 

“See what?” he asked confused.

 

“We have examined the different timelines…”

 

“...forward and backward.”

 

“We don’t like the one we are on much…”

 

“...we don’t.  It’s dull.”

 

“Very dull.  Mother is sad.  We have to spend a lot of time with uncle Thor…”

 

“...Uncle Thor wants us to be heroes.”

 

“Are you girls heroes on Midgard?”  The pair shrugged. 

 

“Sometimes.  We’ve foiled a few plots…”

 

“...prevented the odd explosion.”

 

“Mostly we do what we want…”

 

“...they’ve given up trying to stop us and just let us be.”

 

“We don’t do them harm…”

 

“...not much.”

 

Loki beamed widely.  “And does Uncle Thor know you’re here right now?”

 

“Uncle Thor is so,” the psychic one paused, “simple…”

 

“...virtuous,” her time turning sister added with apparent disdain.

 

“Those are his two most irritating qualities.” Loki agreed.  “So what am I misunderstanding?”

 

“We are going to take a risk…”

 

“...a calculated risk.”

 

“We are sending you back…”

 

“...back to the day we were born.”

 

“Yes, we like those timelines better than this one…”

 

“...mostly because Mother is better with you there.”

 

Without his magic to hide him, they saw Loki’s astonished expression in full.  “I’ve been so long without her and without you. What if I blow this chance to make it up to you?  What if I’m a different man than the one she knew?”

 

“You might…”

 

“...probably not.  You could.”

 

“There’s many possibilities…”

 

“...infinite possibilities.”

 

“We like our chances better with you there…”

 

“...much better.  Don’t screw it up.”

 

“One more thing.  We hate our names…”

 

“...hate them.  Mother didn’t speak Asgardian so Thor named us.”

 

“We have picked our names, you have to give them to us when you return.  I’m Offrey…”

 

“...I’m Lakasia.”  They stared at their father.

 

“Ah...those are better names than the ones Thor picked for you?” Loki grimaced.

 

“They’re our names…”

 

“...you don’t have a choice, those are our names.”

 

“We combined names from Asgard…”

 

“...and Jotunheim.”

 

“Who am I to argue with my rescuers.  Or my daughters. Offley and Lakasia it is.”

 

“Offrey.  Remember....”

 

“...don’t forget.”  

 

The twins joined hands as Lakasia extended out the staff to her father where he hung helplessly in mid-air.  As he took hold of the staff, he felt a jolt of energy surge through it and saw his daughter’s eyes light up white with the ferocious magic of Valhalla.  He felt himself careening through space and time. It was reminiscent of riding bifrost, although where bifrost made him a little nauseous, this magic threatened to tear him limb from limb.

 

He landed face first, still clutching the dark stone staff, in the hallway outside the delivery room in Wakanda where his family awaited him.  Nearly a hundred years in the past. The first thing he did when he arrived was vomit on the floor. The second thing he did was roll onto his back with a dull moan and lie there.

 

“Loki?”  Thor came running out into the corridor and found his brother laying on his back on the floor.  “Loki where did you go, you were gone for nearly five minutes. Your wife is worried sick.”

 

He would have laughed much harder if the laughter didn’t threaten to make him vomit again.  “Five minutes, that’s not very precise of them.” He laughed again but stopped to check to make sure none of his ribs were broken from his fall.

 

“Did you leave the birth of your children to go retrieve this staff?  Loki, even for you.” Thor scolded.

 

“Take that thing away from me, I never want to see it again.” Loki tossed the staff at his brother who had to lean down to catch it.  Thor finally took some time to size up his brother’s condition.

 

“Loki, you look like Hel.  Where did you go?”

 

Loki made his way gingerly to his feet.  “I’ll tell you in a minute. Please, I need to see my children.”

 

Loki entered the delivery room where his wife held their newborn daughters, one in each arm.  The stars had left their eyes, having successfully brought the goddesses to the material plane.  The doctors had removed the special glasses that Shuri had furnished them with to avoid the effects of the stargaze.  Doctor Strange looked at Loki with a respectful nod and a skeptical eyebrow. 

 

His wife looked incredibly relieved.

 

“I thought I had lost you the moment we became a family.”

 

“You very nearly did.  The girls saved me.”

 

“These girls?” she asked, looking down at the two little bundles she held.  They had been swaddled in cozy little blankets and furnished with tiny hats.  All that showed was their faces: one blue and one white. Their eyes were closed.

 

“Can I hold them?” Loki asked.  His wife smiled and carefully placed one in each of his long arms.  They were so small and delicate compared to the formidable creatures he had just talked to and he held both easily.

 

“Yes.  They,” a smile crept slowly across his face, “are going to be magnificent.”

 

“What should we call them?” his wife asked.  He closed his eyes as he remembered his promise.

 

“You’re not going to like it.”


	10. Epilogue

“Until the girls came along, I was sure that your ascension was my greatest achievement.”

 

She smiled at him.  “Your achievement? I think I had a hand in my own ascension as well as the twins.  A hand or more.”

 

“They make me prouder every day.” He boasted.

 

“They’re menaces.  They’re only four years old and they’ve already gotten us banned from several nations we used to call home.”  There was a mix of pride and frustration in her voice befitting any mother. Especially a mother of twins.

 

“That’s what I said.”  He smiled. She shook her head at him and laughed.  “We aren’t technically banned from Wakanda,” he caveated.

 

“We aren’t terribly welcome either.  Shuri won’t permit them to go around freezing time in her lab unless they figure out a way she can measure it.  I think we are some years out from that.” She ran her fingers through her hair in thought.

 

“I’ll just ask Offrey how many years.” Loki offered.

 

“Loki, be serious for a moment.  We have rapidly worn out our welcome across most of the globe.  We’re going to have to get the time twins under control.”

 

“Time Twins, I like that, is that what people are saying?” Loki smirked.  His wife glared at him.

 

“Well, if this world isn’t so welcoming to us at the moment, then we’ll just have to find one that is.”

 

“Be serious,” she said, “we don’t have access to any kind of spacecraft and no one in their right mind will give us one.”

 

He stepped in closer and looked her right in the eye with his hands on each of her shoulders.

 

“A craft is not the only way off a planet.”  

 

She saw the twinkle in his eye.  “You have another way?”

 

He did have another way.  Loki did as he had always done.  He used the keys to the universe that were uniquely available to him to travel to somewhere he had not worn out his welcome.

 

This time he was not alone.

 

Loki, his wife, and the Time Twins had many adventures together both on and off of Midgard in the centuries that followed.

 

But those are stories for another time.


End file.
